1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus configured to perform a correction process on a boundary region between a forward field of view and lateral field of view as well as to a method for operating the image processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a super-wide-angle endoscope with an expanded angle of view has been proposed, such as an endoscope configured to acquire a forward-field-of-view image through a front observation window and acquire a lateral-field-of-view image through a lateral observation window.
With such an endoscope, there is a boundary region between the forward-field-of-view image and lateral-field-of-view image, and so a process of making the boundary region unobtrusive is carried out.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-66646 describes a technique for forming a forward-field-of-view image and lateral-field-of-view image as a front region and lateral region on a single image, performing a process of merging the images by overlaying one image over the other using an image signal of the single image, and thereby correcting a boundary region between the front region and lateral region.